[Closed] Bike shop refusing warranty work

Is the shop or me in the wrong here?

It depends on the agreement between the Marin importers and the shop. Some importers/distributors make it a condition of supply that the shop must handle all warranty claims for that brand. Most don't. The question is, does the shop get paid by Marin?

OTOH if the shop you bought from is willing to pay your LBS, have you passed that information on?

Manufacturers can be utter arses in not refunding dealers for warranty work, so I suspect they've been stung before and don't want to be left out of pocket twice.

I don't think it's you or the local shop, it's the place you bought it from. It's their obligation to fix your issue. Of course, it may be that the Marin dealers have to sign a contract obliging them to deal with any and all warranty work. But that's not a contract between them and you. Have you talked to the online shop about the concerns with the cassette?

If it's a known issue, demand Marin send the correct cassette, then swap it yourself. Otherwise they've sent a bike out with a known fault.

Sounds like they don't want the hassle.
I suspect they're withing their rights to refuse work, especially as they're probably busy like all other bike shops right now.
Find another Marin dealer.

Don't believe all you read on the internet . What is the casette fitted that doesn't work with Shimano ?

Seller is possibly trying to make it easy for you (and also them in not having to pay for return carriage of the bike, if that is their cost).

LBS have every right to refuse the work (as do most businesses). And they can't be arsed, as it's not their problem and presumably something they have no knowledge of.

Herein are the perils of online shopping!

Don’t believe all you read on the internet . What is the casette fitted that doesn’t work with Shimano ?

+1?

Shimano will tell you that their shifting won't work with sunrace/suntoru/sram/campagnolo, but in most cases it does you just miss out on some of the clever stuff Shimano has patented so it might be a bit clunkier.

My moneys on Sunrace and I also bet it works fine. It’ll be a setup issue.

Thanks for the replies.

To answer some things

Surely the part of them message from Marin that says take it to your nearest Marin dealer would imply it's parts of there contract with Marin to carry out warranty work no matter what dealer it's purchased from.

Marin gave me no option to get cassette sent out and said take to nearest Marin dealer and I suspect gears will need setup again once cassette replaced.

I don't believe everything on the internet but have emailed Marin and they have confirmed the issue and told me to take to my nearest Marin dealer and they will sort it out.

My next nearest Marin dealer is 3 hours round trip

Marin also said to me the have "officially" Told all dealers about issue and I mentioned it when dropping bike off.

I have not contacted shop I purchased from again as they have already paid once for the issue that has not been sorted and the bike is currently in another Marin dealer which I expected to deal with the issue

Yeah never known a cassette to be a problem.
Bent hanger, Wrong cable routing something like this.

Which cassette won’t work with Shimano gears? As long as the number of speeds matches (and even if not, there’s leeway) it should work.

I can't say for sure what the problem is but there is talk on an other forum about the cassette being the issue and the shop have replaced the outer with a longer one and had a few tries of setting the gears up

All I want is my new bike to change gear when I click the shifter

Full message from Marin below

I'm sorry to read that you're having shifting issues with your Rift Zone 3. Unfortunately, some of our Rift Zone 3 models were shipped with an incorrectly spec'd 11-50t, 12-speed cassette that is not compatible with Shimano 12-speed shifting systems. This compatibility issue is something we found out about after production: Essentially there was an assembly spec error at our factory and we have replacements that have the correct cog spacing for Shimano 12-speed drivetrains_11-51t.
We have "officially" communicated this issue to our dealers, and in this case; I must apologize for this issue. Our product and sales team has been made aware of this issue and you can go to your nearest dealer to arrange a swap for the correctly spaced cassette at your convenience.

If you have a Marin bicycle and it ever needs warranty attention or proper service, please take it to your nearest Marin Bikes dealer which can be found on the Marin website. Please note that we will need a copy of your receipt to process any warranty related claims.

Surely the part of them message from Marin that says take it to your nearest Marin dealer would imply it’s parts of there contract with Marin to carry out warranty work no matter what dealer it’s purchased from.

It's the bike industry you're talking about, not LA Law. Nobody is "in the wrong".

As above: try a different Marin dealer, fix it yourself or get it back to the place you bought it from.

As it's a new bike that's never worked, deal with the shop you bought it from. They said take it to an LBS and send us the bill so it sounds like they're being pragmatic and want to avoid the cost of shipping the bike back. Forward them the email from Martin and ask if it affects the bike they sold you and if so can they send you the right cassette.

Don't get tied up in the details of Marin's warranty arrangements when you're fully covered by statutory consumer rights.

Forward the email from Marin to your local Marin dealer keeping Marin in cc, requesting to book the bike in for work.

I'd just buy the right one, then worry about it later.

Sounds like a load of testicles. I've ridden a bike with 10-50 Sram cassette and 12sp XT / XTR drivetrain and it shifted fine. Maybe the Sunrace cassette just sucks?

Perhaps you could get the shop where you bought the bike from to talk to the LBS and then come up with a resolution . Sometimes local dealers are resentful of shops who mail order bikes and then when there is a problem just effectively wash their hands of it by sending the customer to the local dealer .

Why won’t they just send the cassette to you, saves a load of faff.

LBS have every right to refuse the work (as do most businesses). And they can’t be arsed, as it’s not their problem and presumably something they have no knowledge of.

Herein are the perils of online shopping!

This is my view of it. I buy most stuff online on the assumption that I have to sort out any minor problems myself and return anything that has serious issues. It's not reasonable to expect a local shop to want to deal with warranty hassles after you bought elsewhere.

Tell the online site you want to buy and fit your own and get a partial refund from them.go onto mtbr and get advice as to what one you need if unsure after research and using this site.if you love the bike and want to keep it just fix it up yourself
One of the risks of buying online.however I would have thought marin would send you a new cassette or maybe the online retailer.you could arrange to get it fixed at your lbs and send the invoice to the online dealer.email the shop and cc marin into the email with their response in the email.

As above, it should work, but it's not 100% 'manufacturer ideal' I guess.
If it's 12sp SRAM(HG or xD) and the desired outcome is 12sp Shimano(Microspline) then I suspect the 'fix' from the manufacturer included either a new freehub, or possibly new hub, or even complete wheel.
I'd really be forcing the original supplier to take it back and sort it.
Give CRC another go 😉

I’d really be forcing the original supplier to take it back and sort it.

I'm guessing that the price has changed, or what he wants is no longer available from CRC, so a refund isn't what he's after.

Buying and fitting your own is a bit of a lottery as well. It will have to be another Sunrace or similar if it's going on an HG freehub, so the risk remains that the spacing will be a little bit off.

Deore etc would need microspline.

Thought I’d read that Marin won’t cover stuff from CRC Wiggle as it was not an official Marin dealer.

Of course if the bike came from else where this does not matter ?

First I how the OP gets sorted

Unfortunately, some of our Rift Zone 3 models were shipped with an incorrectly spec’d 11-50t, 12-speed cassette that is not compatible with Shimano 12-speed shifting systems. This compatibility issue is something we found out about after production: Essentially there was an assembly spec error at our factory and we have replacements that have the correct cog spacing for Shimano 12-speed drivetrains_11-51t.

I've read this a few times. I'm trying to get my head round it. Shimano don't make a 51-11 12 speed cassette do they? 51-11 suggests it's an HG cassette. I can only think as sunrace made a duff batch.

Your contract is with your retailer and so legally they are responsible for putting it right. They have offered to pay another shop to fix to either save you or them the bother of the bike going back to them, but pretty pointless to offer a refund for labour costs if it needs a part which likely costs more than the offered refund?
Sounds like the second shop has tried to sort as best they can with a mishmash of not 100% compatible parts, but are getting the hassle from the situation rather than the retailer who profited on the sale of the bike.

I’d speak to your retailer and Marin to organise FOC replacement of the cassette which the second shop may be willing to fit as part of the amount agreed by retailer to refund.

Second shop sounds like it’s done no wrong - they’ve tried to improve shifting with available parts, but the cassette needs replaced which isn’t their financial obligation.

Looking at the spec of the bike it's a lovely mashup of shimano, fsa, sunrace and kmc. It's always going to be a bit average, especially if the cassette is faulty.

As above.

Your legal right of return is with the retailer you brought it off. If online then you're covered by distance selling rules in addition to statutory.

If it's not working and never worked send it back to them for a full refund.

Surely the part of them message from Marin that says take it to your nearest Marin dealer would imply it’s parts of there contract with Marin to carry out warranty work no matter what dealer it’s purchased from.

Not necessarily, just implies that it's easier for Marin that way. On some issues, because it might be a simple return part to distributor, that might work.

I’d speak to your retailer and Marin to organise FOC replacement of the cassette which the second shop may be willing to fit as part of the amount agreed by retailer to refund.

I reckon this is your best bet here and sounds like what Marin should do to make this right.

I've got to side with the shop refusing to do the warranty work. Bike shops are rammed and warranty work is never profitable, especially when many are backed up with work that will make a profit.

I know its not a lot of help, but the reason buying online is cheaper is because they can effectively dodge any warranty work. (This is a thinly veiled "Support your LBS!" post).

Use some of the money saved by buying the bike online to get the LBS to do a proper job (replacing parts at full RRP if necessary) and use it as an opportunity to build a relationship with the shop.

If you’ve bought something and it doesn’t work right, the retailer must sort it. This applies to EVERYTHING not just bikes. It’s not a warranty issue - it’s your basic consumer right.

What should be on there is a Sunrace 11-51 cassette with Shimano slx shifters and mech with FSA cranks and KMC chain.

So have you checked that is what is on your bike, is it a different make of cassette or different teeth.

Just to clear a few things up the bike was not bought from CRC or wiggle, though I feel I might as well of bought from them now and saved myself some money

The bike was bought online from a Marin dealer shop that also has a Physical shop and was not discounted, The only reason I choose them is that has stock otherwise i would of purchased from my local Marin bike shop. I bought the pedals for the bike from my local shop and try and support them when possible

Yes the original shop is trying to avoid the shipping cost but this option is also a lot of hassle for me and I don't have box anymore

Yes the local shop is busy which meant i had to wait a while to get bike booked in.

I just thought it was the same as buying a car than you can take it to any dealer for warranty work and that is what Marin have told me, I didn't expect most people to side with the shop so maybe I need to rethink this

It is a 50t Sunrace on the bike

Marin haven’t put their hand in their pocket to help anyone here. Particularly not the dealer who’s time has been taken up by the issue.

As the bike is not fit for purpose and Marin acknowledge that I would give the seller 7 days to rectify the problem or you will reject the bike, which you have right to do by law.

you can take it to any dealer for warranty work and that is what Marin have told me

That's my understanding. It is in the agreement between the dealer and the manufacturer. It is true that with both bikes and cars, the manufacturer doesn't compensate the shop any where near what it actually costs to do the warranty work. You seem to have run into a shop that isn't a great representative of the brand. You could try going back to Marin, telling them what the shop has done/not done and is refusing to help further. Might get you somewhere but it's doubtful.

the manufacturer doesn’t compensate the shop any where near what it actually costs to do the warranty work

They generally don't cover any labour costs whatsoever, only parts. Where I work we will try and help people out with warranty stuff for things not bought from us but it is made very clear up front that they'll have to pay all of our labour & postage costs.

It is true that with both bikes and cars, the manufacturer doesn’t compensate the shop any where near what it actually costs to do the warranty work.

That’s not true. In the car trade, warranty work is reasonably well paid by the manufacturer. In the bike trade, in all but rare instances (like product recalls) only replacement parts are issued - no labour costs.

I just thought it was the same as buying a car than you can take it to any dealer for warranty work and that is what Marin have told me

Not in any shop I have worked in. It will depend what contract the dealer and distributor have. Last shop I worked in we had no contractual obligation to handle other dealers warranty work. We were advised to do so to gain customers etc, however it was at our discretion. Warranty labour was exceedingly rare, normally only recalls, and even then it would be something useless like £5/bike.

Brands/distributors would often tell customers to take it to a local dealer who will sort it (despite the dealer having no obligation to do so), this can leak to unrealistic expectations.

I am quite happy to do warranty work on parts I have not sold, but I charge hourly rate for the work, including admin time to process the warranty, postage etc.

I also know some shop owners who have been burned in the past, or are exceedingly bitter who just point blank refuse to engage with people who have bought a brand they sell online.

t is true that with both bikes and cars, the manufacturer doesn’t compensate the shop any where near what it actually costs to do the warranty work.

Depends on the car manufacturer e.g. my wife sets the warranty rates for all the dealers in her region based on the average labour cost for each dealer. Doesn't mean they always make a profit on warranty work though and obviously would rather do non warranty work (if they had a free choice).

Hi swan0mighty,

Sorry to hear about your cassette issues. I have been in touch with the dealer in question to get this issued resolved asap and get you back out on the trails.
I've dropped you a DM as we need a couple of bits from you to get the claim resolved.

Oli Brown,
Marin UK Brand Manager